Limitless Word
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,
John 10:14 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
  • KJV I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
  • BSB I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
  • NKJV I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
  • NLT “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus repeats that He is the Good Shepherd who knows His own and is known by them. There is mutual, intimate knowledge between Christ and His people.

Overview

This personal knowing is not mere acquaintance but a saving, covenantal relationship. Christ knows His sheep with electing love, and they know Him by faith. The bond between shepherd and flock is deep and reciprocal.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
  • 2 Tim 2:19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
  • John 10:11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
  • Eph 1:17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
  • 1 Jn 5:20We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • John 17:3This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
  • Ps 1:6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
  • 2 Tim 1:12For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
  • Phil 3:8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
  • John 17:8for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
  • Eph 3:19and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • Rev 2:2“I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.
  • 2 Cor 4:6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
  • Rev 2:19“I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first.
  • Rev 3:8“I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name.
  • Rev 2:13“I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
  • Rev 2:9“I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
  • Rev 3:15“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.
  • Isa 53:11After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
  • Rev 3:1“And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: “I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 10:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 10:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.